And Flights of Angels

Sequel to: Requiem for a Childe

Author: Janet Lynn

Parts: 11 - 19

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~Part: 11~

Spike lay completely still for a few endless moments.  He was afraid of waking Angel and ruining this perfect moment.  He lay on his side with his sire curled around him, spooning him from behind.

Angel feigned sleep, not wanting Spike to know he was actually awake.  He reveled in the feeling of the sleep warmed body resting against him.

Finally, the blonde decided there were things that needed to be said so he stirred ever so slightly to see if Angel was awake.

Angel sighed inwardly as he felt the blonde move.  "You awake?" he asked softly, non-existent breath brushing over the blonde's ear.

"Yeah" Spike whispered, shifting lightly in the embrace.

"This ok?" the dark vampire asked.

"Yeah" the angel answered again, sighing as he thought about the conversation they needed to have.  He shifted in the arms so he was facing the vampire next to him.  "We need to talk."

"That is never good" Angel sighed.  He was suddenly very afraid of what the blonde was going to say.  "What is it, Spike?"

"First I want to thank you for explaining everything to me" he said with a slight smile on his face as he remembered the pictures and stories they had shared the night before.  "It really does make me feel better, luv.  I think I understand you a little better now."

Angel smiled at that.  He wanted so badly for the two of them to be together, even if that meant they could only be friends.  He nodded slightly to let the blonde know he wanted him to continue.

Spike sighed as he prepared to continue.  "But this can't happen."  He almost changed his mind when he saw the crestfallen look on Angel's face. "It can never work out, luv.  You're a demon and I'm an angel.  There is just too much working against us."  Spike sighed and sat up quickly, looking for his clothes.  "I have to go" he whispered, refusing to meet his sire's eyes.

"Can't we just be friends?" the vampire asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

Spike turned to face him and let out a choked laugh.  "We can't be friends" he said, refusing to meet the other man's eyes.  "We'll never be friends. There's just too much between us.  We'll always be wanting for more and that can't happen."

"Why not?" Angel practically shouted, anger taking over the despair he felt earlier.  "Does it say that in your little handbook?"

"No" Spike said, pulling on his pants.  He had hoped it wouldn't go like this.  "This is just the way it needs to be."

As he walked over to pick his shirt from where it lay, he heard Angel growl, "No."

Spike quickly turned around and gaped at the man before him.  Angel had risen from the bed and was standing by the foot of the bed with his hands on his hips.  Spike's mouth practically watered at the sight.  Clad only in the silk boxers he went to sleep in the night before, Angel painted a breathtaking picture.  The word finally sank in and Spike asked, "What?"

"No" Angel reiterated.

This confused Spike.  This was definitely not the reaction he had expected. "What do you mean 'no'?" he asked, frozen in the act of pulling the shirt up his arms.

"I mean no" the dark vampire said forcefully.  "Didn't you learn anything from last night?"

Now Spike was even more confused than he had been before.  He shook his head and asked Angel, "What are you talking about?"

"How many times did I walk away from you, Spike?" Angel answered stalking slowly towards the angel who was frozen to the spot.  The words and sensual movements from the mostly naked creature held him still, almost as if he were in his thrall.  "How many times did I need to tell you I loved you and I didn't?  I'm telling you now.  I love you.  I need you. And you are not walking away from this.  I won't let you.  I can't.  It will kill me."

"You're already dead, luv" Spike whispered, trying for comedy to break the spell, but only succeeding in momentarily pausing the vampire's plea.

"I'm serious, Spike" Angel continued, closing the distance between them. "If you leave, you will truly have the reputation as an angel of death. When you were dead, I felt so empty inside.  There was so much I wanted to say, but it was too late.  I grieved for you and pitied myself for all the chances I lost.  And then you were back up, but I thought you didn't want me. But you came back to see me.  Why did you come back, Spike?"

The blonde sighed.  He knew that Angel had asked him a question, but he was having a hard time processing the information.  He felt like his head was swimming.  It was almost as if the vampire was casting a spell on him.  He shook his head, trying to clear the fog.  "I wanted to understand you" he whispered, desperately trying to hold on to his original excuse.  "I wanted to hear your side of the story."

"No, Spike" Angel whispered.  He had snuck up on the angel right before his eyes.  He slowly invaded the blonde's personal space and stared into his glazed eyes.  "You came here because you wanted to see me."

"No I." Spike stared before Angel interrupted him.

"Yes Spike" he continued.  "You arranged the whole thing.  Don't deny it. You got Harmony to change the schedule, you got the pictures, and you waited for me.  And how drunk were you last night, Spike?  I've seen you drink a whole lot more than what you had last night and never had any problems.  Why did you stay?  You wanted to be in my bed, didn't you?"

As Spike opened his mouth to speak, Angel reached out to trace the soft, parted lips with his thumb.  The blonde gasped at the gentle touch.  His eyes slowly moved up from the spot on the strong, muscular chest he had been staring at to gaze into the warm brown eyes he had always loved.  He knew he couldn't lie.

"I had to know" he whispered, lips moving gently against the strong digit still ghosting against them.  "I know I should have stayed away, but I had to see you one last time."

"No" the dark vampire whispered, leaning in.  "There is no last time.  There will be no last time.  You're mine, Spike.  I made you what you are.  I walked away and once I knew you were really gone, it almost killed me.  I won't let it happen to you."  Angel leaned in, brushing his cheek against the sharp cheekbone before leaning in and whispering in the blonde's ear. "Do you still love me, Spike?"

Spike froze.  He didn't know what to say.  He loved Angel.  He always had and he always would, but this was all too much.  He needed to get away.  He needed to think.

"Answer the question, me boy" the dark vampire whispered, purposefully slipping into the Irish brogue he knew would drive his childe wild.

Spike felt his mouth go dry at the sound of his sire's voice.  That was the voice he missed so much.  Just the sound of it made him hard.  As much as he tried to resist, he heard himself answer, "I'll always love you."

Angel smiled against the soft cheek.  He pulled back to look into the azure blue eyes to see the truth shining there.  "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" he asked before leaning forward to lightly brush his lips against the ones before him.

Spike melted into the kiss.  He pulled back slightly, tears streaming down his pale cheeks.  "Sire" he whispered.  He opened his eyes, surprised to see matching tears on Angel's face.  Brown eyes captured blue and Angel answered, "Childe."

~Part: 12~

They stood, simply holding each other for several long minutes.  Neither one wanted to let go for fear of spoiling the moment.  Slowly, Spike pulled back.  There was something he needed to say.

"Luv" he whispered.  "Do you think this is wrong?"

"What?" Angel asked, looking into the sapphire eyes.  "Us?"

"It's just." Spike faltered for a moment before he sighed and continued. "You're a demon and now I'm an angel.  Doesn't that go against some strange cosmic force or something?  I would hate to cause some kind of tear in the space-time continuum or something."

The dark vampire chuckled at the innocent question of his childe before pulling him close and kissing the top of his head.  "You've been watching too much Star Trek" he said as he rubbed his cheek in the soft curls.

"Harris' fault" the blonde grumbled.  He pulled back again and said, "I'm serious, Angel.  I'm worried about this."

"Well, I'm sure that something as important as the destruction of the universe would rank high enough that they would warn you about something like that" Angel deadpanned.  He smiled at the look of outrage on the angel's face before leaning in for another kiss.

"I'm serious Angel" the blonde raged as he broke out of the vampire's embrace and began to pace the room.  "I honestly don't think something like this has come up before."

"Will" Angel whispered before walking over to the sulking angel.  "I'm sure that it has and I doubt they would let anything happen that would be a danger.  Trust this.  Trust us."

Spike smiled at the gentle request and he let Angel kiss him again.  The kiss started as simple and gentle, but quickly turned rough and passionate. The blonde sighed as he opened his mouth to the invading tongue.

Angel smiled into the kiss as he noticed that Spike was slightly warmer than himself.  He reveled in the difference as he mapped at each tooth in the blonde's mouth.  He ran his tongue over the still slightly pointed incisors and wondered how his childe felt without his fangs.

"What's it like not being able to change?" he asked as he pulled away.

"My face?" Spike asked.

"Yeah."

"It's odd" he answered in a small voice.  "For so long, it was who I was, the Big Bad.  But it's gone now.  It took me a while to realize that I'm not really Spike anymore.  Spike was the vampire who tortured and killed.  I still kill, but it's different.  It's not what I am."

Spike looked up and saw the despair in Angel's face.  "What's the matter, pet?" he asked quietly, placing a gentle hand on his sire's cheek.

"But it's who I am" he whispered, eyes downcast.

<Idiot> Spike thought to himself.  "No, Angel" she said, forcing the dark vampire's gaze up to meet his own.  "You've lived how long with this soul? You are not Angelus.  When I had my soul as a vampire, I was all guilt ridden and all, but I was still a blood thirsty vampire.  You're not. You're a champion and you always have been."

The words the younger man spoke brought tears to the vampire's eyes.  He smiled at the angel's insight.  "You've really grown up, Will" he said with a smile.

The blonde reached up to wipe away the stray tears with his thumb.  "That's what happens when you die" he said with a smile.

"I want you so bad" Angel whispered, letting all his emotions show through his gaze.

Spike was shocked at the look.  No one, not even Dru, ever looked at him with that much passion before.  "Well" he whispered seductively as he pressed his body closer to the taller man.  "What are you going to do about?"

"I don't know" Angel said groaning.  "I can't let Angelus get out.  After last time, he seems to get stronger every time he gets out."

Spike gaped at him for a moment.  "Do you really think I could give you a moment of pure happiness?"

"I know you could" Angel whispered as he brought their lips together again for a gentle yet demanding kiss.  "What do we do?"

"Can I tell you a little secret?" Spike whispered conspiratorially against the vampire's cool lips.  Angel simply nodded his head.  "I know something that will keep you from losing your soul."

Angel pulled back and stared at the blonde for a while.  Suddenly he nodded, letting the other man know he wanted him to continue.

"When you were with Buffy, did you ever change?" he asked.  "Did you drink from her at all?"

"No" Angel said indignantly.  He couldn't believe Spike was asking him such a thing.

"When you were with Buffy, you let yourself forget who you are" Spike said, softly stroking his face.  "You are a vampire, luv, not a man.  If you would just remember that, perfect happiness would not be an issue.  Understand?"

"So you're saying that if I stay in game face and drink from you, then I wouldn't have to worry about the curse?" he asked incredulously.

"Do you really think you could be perfectly happy being the vampire that you hate?"

Angel slowly began to smile.  The fact that he was a vampire gave him no end to the torment that was his existence.  It reminded him of the evil he was and the evil he still held inside.  <This could really work.>

Angel smirked and looked hungrily at the blonde.  Spike almost flinched at the near Angelus looked, but smiled and back away playfully.  Angel pounced on the retreating man and attacked the trousers he had been trying to put back on.  Spike had not completed the process so all Angel had to do was lower the zipper and the pants pooled on the floor at the smaller man's feet.  Yanking down the boxers, Angel stood back and took in the sight of his childe in all his naked glory.

"Oh Will" he breathed.  His mouth was watering just at the sight of his childe's hard proud cock staring at him.  He was about to dive in for a taste when Spike stopped him.

"Your turn, luv" he said, gesturing towards the boxers the vampire still wore.  Angel reached up and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of the silky material.  He looked seductively through half lidded eyes as he slowly lowered the boxers over his muscular thighs and off his feet.  Standing naked in front of his childe, he stood and stared.

The two men stood facing each other, simply taking in the perfection of each other.  Finally, after several long minutes, the passion became too much and they fell on each other in an attack of lips, teeth, tongues and hands.

Angel steered them towards the bed and they fell on each other in a heap. Angel rolled them over so that the blonde was splayed over the top of him. He needed to feel every inch of flesh possible.  Running his hands over the angel's back and down to his tight buttocks, the vampire moaned into the kiss.

Spike gasped and thrust his hips into the tight flesh below him when he felt the large hands stroke his needy cheeks.  He had wanted this to last, but his desire was so strong he knew he couldn't wait much longer. He parted his legs and moved to straddle the dark vampire, but Angel stopped him with a soft hand.

"No" he whispered, looking up into the confused azure eyes.  Spike thought his brain must have stopped working when he felt Angel part his legs, inviting the blonde to settle between them.  He couldn't believe that his sire would allow such a thing.

"Sire?" the blonde asked shakily.  He didn't want to ruin everything by over stepping his bounds.

Angel smiled up at his beautiful boy.  "I want you, Will" he said with all the love he felt shining in his eyes.  "This isn't about sire/childe bullshit.  I want to feel you inside me.  I want to feel what you felt with me.  Please."

Spike was in heaven.  Angel had never begged him for anything before.  He smiled and gave Angel a questioning look. The dark vampire reached out and pulled a small bottle out of the bedside table and pushed it into Spike's hand.

The blonde turned over the bottle and smiled.  "Peach?" he chuckled.

"You always called me Peaches" Angel answered.  "Don't tell me you forgot why."

"Oh no, luv" Spike smirked.  "I remember.  I'm just surprised is all."

"Well get over it and make love to me."

"That I can do" the blonde said as he leaned over to capture the vampire's lips again.  As he thrust his tongue into the cool mouth, he slowly circled Angel's soft pucker with a now slick finger.  Angel moaned into the angel's warm mouth at the incredible sensation.

Spike was in shock as he felt himself sink into the tight coolness of his sire.  In all the time they were together, Spike was never allowed to take his sire, it just wasn't done.  But now that he had a taste, it was an experience he was never going to give up.  Feeling the tight muscle relax, he added a second and finally a third finger, preparing his lover with extreme care.

Angel tried to control his breathing, especially since he didn't need to breathe at all.  The sensations Spike was sending through him were so foreign but so erotic at the same time he felt like he was being pulled apart.  All he knew was that he wanted Spike in him.now.

"Please" he begged, tears filling his eyes.  He wasn't sure what he was begging for but he needed something more.

Spike would have laughed at the desperation in his sire's voice if he had not been feeling it himself. "You ready, luv?" he asked before he moved into position between the strong parted thighs.

"Yes, gods yes" Angel cried as he pulled his thighs back to expose his waiting entrance even further.  Spike gasped to the wanton look on his lover's face.  He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.  Slowly he pushed forward and felt like he was drowning in sensation.

Angel felt the pain of  being stretched in way he had never known before. The vampire in him reveled in the pain and arched into it, begging for more. He had never felt so full or fulfilled before.  His childe, his beautiful boy was with him, in him and completing him.  The vampire wanted to cry for the joy of it.

Spike opened his eyes once he was fully seated inside the writhing body beneath him.  He knew he would not be able to last long, the desire was too great, but he needed to see the man's face to see how he was doing.  The blonde recognized the look on his sire's face.

"Angel" he whispered.  When the dark eyes connected with his own, he said, "Let me see you, luv."

Angel looked up at the man above him with confusion in his eyes.  When he saw Spike smile, he suddenly understood.  Keeping their eyes locked, Angel slipped into his vampiric visage and smiled.

Spike smiled back, realizing how truly beautiful his sire was, human face or not.  Slowly he pulled out and thrust in harshly, breathing heavily on every stroke.  He threw his head back at the turmoil in his body and barely heard Angel's quiet request.  He looked down at the ridged face and asked, "What was that, pet?"

"I said, let me see you" Angel gasped as he arched up to meet Spike's next thrust.  Understanding dawned on the blonde angel and he relaxed his muscles until he felt the familiar release.  He cried out at the pleasant tingling as his wings unfurled and waved slightly at his sides.  Angel sighed at the sight and felt his control slipping as he watched the beauty that was his childe.  He could almost swear that Spike was glowing with an unearthly light.

Spike felt the familiar tightening in his belly that told him he wasn't going to last much longer.  He wanted his sire to cum with him, so he changed the angle of his thrusts to try and find that magic spot within. Suddenly, Angel cried out in what was obviously not pain.  Spike smirked. <That's it> he thought and worked harder to try and hit that spot with every thrust.

Angel felt his eyes rolling up in the back of head as he saw colored sparks shooting behind his closed lids.  "Spike" he cried with a strained voice, arching up into the sensation.

Spike heard the desperation in Angel's voice and reached down and grasped the man's weeping erection.  He began to stroke the hardened flesh in time with his powerful thrusts and cried out when he felt the soft channel surrounding him begin to shudder.

"Spike" Angel whispered.  The angel opened his eyes and gazed into the deep brown globes that held him captive.  He could see everything in those expressive eyes.  The need, the fear, but most of all the love.  Unable to hold back any longer, Spike leaned forward and said, "Drink, please."

Angel slowly sank his fangs into the tender flesh above him and moaned at the exquisite taste.  The warm blood filled his mouth and he felt himself erupt, coating both of their bellies with his cool seed.

When Spike felt his neck pierced, he cried out.  He felt Angel's release against his stomach and the mind numbing clenching of his inner muscles.  He filled the pulsing passage to overflowing and collapsed on the shaking body below him and folded his wings around him, surrounding both men with warmth and comfort as they both fell in a deep, blissful post coital sleep.

~Part: 13~

Spike woke just over two hours later when he felt the soft rumbling under his chest.  He slowly lifted his head to look into the shining brown eyes of his sire.

"Hi" Angel spoke quietly, a beautiful smile slowly drifting over his face.

"Hi" Spike whispered back, ducking his head back down into the hollow between his sire's neck and shoulder.

"This is neat" the vampire said, reaching up to slowly finger the soft wings gently touching his shoulders.

"I see how you are" the blonde said playfully.  "You just love me for my appendages."

"Yes" Angel confessed.  "But I like some better than others."

They laughed and held each other for a while, enjoying the comfortable silence between them.  Eventually, Spike decided he had enough and he sat up and stretched, flexing his back to retract the wings back into their hiding place deep within his body.

Angel sighed as the wings slowly disappeared.  He loved the new look of his childe.  He sat up slowly and hissed as his sore ass protested at its previous abuse.

Spike chuckled lightly at the look on his sire's face.  "You alright there Peaches?" he asked, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

Angel simply nodded and moved himself so that he was resting against the head of the bed.  "Yeah, I'll live" he responded before he turned to leer at the smirking blonde.  "Besides, I'm a vampire.  Pain is not necessarily a bad thing."

"So you're not disappointed?" Spike asked, suddenly afraid of what the dark vampire would say.  <What if he hated it?> he wondered.  <Would I ever be allowed to do that again?  It was wonderful.  I would hate to think that this was the only time I would get to know him like that.>

Angel watched the emotions play over his boy's face: fear, disappointment, anticipation.  Wanting to reassure him, Angel reached out grabbed the pale face with both hands and pulled him in close, capturing the soft lips in the most tender of kisses.  "I can't believe that I waited so long to feel you inside me.  It was heaven and I would be disappointed to never feel like that again."

The blonde angel smiled as he pressed their foreheads together and he sighed in relief.  "I guess this is a new beginning, yeah?"

Angel reached out and pulled the smaller man to his side.  Once the angel was situated in close, he said, "Yeah, new beginning.  No Sire bullshit, no games, ok?"

"But I liked some of our games" Spike pouted.

Angel chuckled and lightly cuffed his boy's head before placing a gentle kiss on the soft curls.  "I like the hair" he said conversationally.  "Are you going to keep it like this?"

"Don't know" the blonde said sleepily.  "Depends on what you do to try and convince me." After a few moments of silence he asked, "Did you think I was coming back?"

"No" Angel answered honestly.  "When you walked out, I thought that was the last I was ever going to see of you.  When I walked in my office and I saw you there, I thought I was dreaming.  About half way through the portfolio, I was trying to think how I could keep you here.  When I woke up with you in my arms, I knew that I wanted you here every time I woke up.  There was no way I was going to let you leave, I couldn't."

Spike smiled at the truth in the vampire's words.  He could hear how much his sire wanted him.  As he got to the last part, the angel heard the tears that threatened to fall.  "I'm here now, right?"  Angel nodded his head against the top of his head.  "Not gonna kick me out, are ya?"  Angel shook his head violently.  "Guess I'm staying then."

They sat for several long minutes.  Spike almost thought Angel had fallen asleep, but then he felt the angst rolling off the larger man.  "What are you brooding about now?" he asked lovingly.

"Do you still love Buffy?" the softly whispered question came after a long wait.

Spike pulled back just enough to look into the shining brown eyes.  "Do you?" he asked.

They regarded each other for a long time.  Finally Angel spoke.  "I asked you first."

"What are you? Five years old?" Spike asked, a large smile spreading out across his face.

Angel chuckled and began to tickle the pale body tucked in next to him. Spike squealed and tried squirm away from the deadly accurate fingers. Angel knew every ticklish spot on his childe's strong, lithe body and used it to his advantage.  Spike finally called out, gasping for breathe, pleading for mercy from the vicious attack.

Once he finally caught his breath, he leaned up and kissed the lush lips above him.  Angel moaned into the soft mouth that was pulling him into the warm man below him.  He pressed his body completely against the blonde's connecting them from lips to ankles.

When they broke away, Spike whispered, "Yes."

Angel looked down at the blonde, confused.  "Yes what?" he asked.

"Yes, I still love Buffy."

"Oh" Angel said, frozen for a few moments.  He was too shocked to move at first, but eventually his brain caught up with what was going on and he quickly moved to get off the smaller man.

"Wait, luv" the blonde said, gripping the dark vampire's hip, trying to keep him where he was.  "Let me finish.  I loved Buffy for what she was.  She was beautiful and unattainable.  She was like sunshine and candy.  She was everything I would never have.  I loved her, but she never loved me.  It wasn't real, Angel.  Not like this is with you."

Angel looked into the azure eyes and saw the truth shining there.  "I still love her too" Angel admitted.  "I thought we were Soulmates, you know? But after the fight with the First and you were dead, I thought she would come to me and we would live happily ever after.  She left for Europe almost immediately after she got here.  She never once asked me what I wanted or what I thought.  It was Rupert that came to me to make sure I was all right when I found out you were dead.  It took me a while, but I realized that she didn't love me either.  It's too late for us."

Spike watched the emotions on the larger man's face during his speech.  Once he was finished, he asked shakily, "So where does that leave us?"

Angel smiled at the expectant face.  "Right here" he said as he began to rub his returning erection into the slim hip.  "Buffy is in the past, for both of us.  You are my now and my future, Spike."

The blonde smiled up at the man above him.  He was right.  This was the only place he wanted to be.  "Eternal creatures, right luv" he asked.

Angel answered him by leaning down and reclaiming the blonde's mouth in a scorching kiss.  Nothing else needed to be said.  Spike arched up into the strong body about him.  Angel answered by rubbing his achingly hard cock against the writhing body below him.

"Angel" Spike whispered when he finally was able to pull away from the tempting mouth.  "I want you in me, please" he begged.

"Are you sure?" Angel asked.  He didn't want Spike to think that he wanted to dominate him.

Spike chuckled and grabbed Angel by the back of the head and pulled him in for another deep kiss.  He pulled back and looked into the lust inflamed eyes.  "Didn't I make you feel good, luv?" he asked.

"Oh yeah" Angel growled as he remembered the immense feeling he had when his childe made love to him.

"Don't you want to share?" the blonde smirked at him.

Angel reached out and wrapped his hand around the bottle sitting on the bedside table.  He quickly set to prepare his childe, remembering how to touch and tease the younger man into a frenzy.  In no time, Angel had three fingers buried in the blonde's tight passage and Spike was begging for more.

Angel pulled his fingers out of the clenching hole and the blonde sobbed at the sense of loss.  The vampire leaned over and shushed the weeping man, stroking his disheveled hair gently.  "Ready for me, Will?" he asked gently.

"Please, Angel" he cried, clenching the man's forearms with deadly force. He practically sighed in relief when he felt the head of the sire's cock pressing against him, begging for admittance.

Angel felt a small resistance as he pushed forward and stopped, wondering if the angel was truly ready.  He was answered when Spike bucked up unrepentantly, trying to impale himself on the vampire's hard flesh.  Angel pushed forward and gasped at the warmth inside the tight channel.  Spike wasn't as warm as a human, but he was warmer than the vampire and Angel thought the heat alone would be his undoing.

"Spike" he moaned, holding still to keep from cumming too soon.

"Angel" the blonde practically growled.  "If you don't move, I'm going to die."

The dark vampire chuckled at the demand, but complied heartily and buried himself deeply in the warm body.  Both men cried out at the painful pleasure engulfing them.  They lost themselves in their love making, softly calling each other special names that no one else would know or understand.

Angel wanted this moment to last forever.  He wanted to stay buried deep within his childe and feast on his delicious mouth until his was fulfilled, but he knew that would never happen.  Suddenly pulled from his thoughts, Angel felt the familiar pull in the pit of his belly and he knew he would not last much longer.  He looked down at the wanton creature below him and smiled.  "Spike" he whispered.

The blonde angel looked up at him and smiled as he waited for the vampire to show his face.  When Angel's true face came to the fore, Spike reached up and traced the ridges with a gentle fingertip.  "Love you" he whispered before he groaned as the vampire grasped his demanding erection.

Angel pulled on the younger man's cock in time with his thrusts, which were getting harsher and more erratic as he neared his completion.

They kept their eyes lock as they cried out.  Spike could feel the cock deep inside him pulsing as Angel spilled his seed inside him while his own sent a steady stream of slick fluid over his stomach and chest.

Satisfied, Angel collapsed onto the smaller man's chest and groaned.  He didn't want to move, but the overwhelming scent was getting to him.  "We stink" he mumbled sleepily.

"Shower?" Spike asked.

"Yeah" Angel moaned as he stood and held a hand out to the reclining blonde. He dragged the angel into the bathroom and turned the water on as warm as he could handle before pulling them both under the wet spray.

Spike moaned as the water relieved what tension was left in his body, ready to enjoy whatever the vampire had for him next.  The men spent the rest of the night rediscovering each other's bodies and receiving their pleasure anyway they could until finally they fell into a deep, restful sleep not worrying about what the next day was to bring.

~Part: 14~

Angel groaned as he heard a distinct sound just outside his consciousness. It sounded like a quiet but insistent pounding but it was still not enough to pull the vampire from his restful slumber.  Suddenly he heard a voice calling his name softly, "Angel.  Angel wake up."

The dark vampire rolled over, making sure that the silky sheet was pulled up to his waist to hide his nakedness.  He was shocked to see the former watcher standing in the doorway to his bedroom.  "Wesley?" he asked, confused.

"Angel" the Englishman sighed, relief evident in his voice.  "There you are. We were beginning to get a little concerned."

"Shh" Angel said, resting a finger against his lips as he tried to signal Wesley to be quiet.  "Spike's still sleeping."

"Spike's here?" Wesley asked, looking back into the main room, expecting to see the blonde asleep on the couch.

Angel cast a guilty look at the sleeping figure next to him in the bed.  The vast expanse of pale flesh exposed from the sheet that was wrapped around the slim waist and hanging off the tempting hips made the vampire smile.  He turned his attention quickly back to his friend in the doorway before he could see the direction his eyes were staring.  "He needed to stay the night" the vampire said cryptically before quickly changing the subject. "What did you need, Wes?"

"Do you know what time it is, Angel?"

<Oh shit> Angel thought.  He honestly had no idea what time it was.  "Did I oversleep?" he asked as he looked around desperately for a clock.

"I should say so" the former watcher said with a smirk.  "It's after noon already.  We figured there was a problem when you missed the eleven o'clock appointment."

That was a meeting Angel really didn't want to miss.  It was one of the people that had to be rescheduled due to Spike's sneakiness.  He should have been there.  "How did it go?"

"Just fine, thanks to Gunn's quick thinking" the Englishman said with a smile.  "It's really quite amazing what they've equipped him with.  He handled things much better than I would have in the situation."

Angel simply nodded.  It was true.  Since the senior partners tweaked his brain, Gunn had come through in ways that the team never would have expected.

"You have another appointment at 1:30" the former watcher continued.  "Its 12:15 right now, so I suggest you get up and get dressed.  Also, if you have the opportunity, you may wish to stop by the science department.  Fred has discovered something quite interesting indeed."

"Ok, Wes" the still sleepy vampire said as he turned and swung his legs off the end of the bed, preparing to stand before he remembered that he was naked below the sheet.  He pulled the silky material tightly around his waist as his friend cleared his throat and turned away.

"I'll see you later" Wesley said as he made a hasty exit out of the vampire's apartment.  Angel put his head in his hands until he heard a quiet snickering behind him.  "What?" he asked as he turned around to see Spike trying desperately to hold his laughter in.

Spike simply flung himself on his back and began to laugh wholeheartedly.

"I'm beginning to think that you are a bad influence on me" Angel said as he lay down next to his still naked childe.  Slowly trailing his fingertips over the exposed flesh, Angel asked, "So what are you going to do today?"

"I have to go see Sam and check in" the blonde said as he lifted his hands to rest behind his head and enjoy the gentle ministrations of Angel's hands. He sighed as a gentle finger slowly circled his navel before dipping in seductively.  He moaned when the dark vampire leaned over and replaced his finger with his tongue.

"We got time for a quickie before I have to go, luv?" Spike asked as he began to card his fingers through the sable hair.

Angel chuckled before leaning up to capture the blonde's lips with his own. Pulling away, he sighed before replying, "I don't think so.  I'm already late."  Once he saw the disappointment on his lover's face, he smiled. "But I think a quick shower might just be in order."

"You're on!" Spike cried as he jumped up from the bed and walked quickly to the bathroom.

Angel watched the naked figure sauntering away and he was sure his mouth was watering.

Knowing he was being watched, Spike turned and quietly asked, "Coming?"

Angel jumped up off the bed and chased after the pale figure who whooped before hoping into the shower, trying to avoid the greedy hands searching for him.  Spike barely made it under the warm water spray before he was attacked by the vampire.

Angel pulled Spike in close to him and pressed his body fully against the man as he claimed the soft mouth in a burning kiss.  Sucking the tempting tongue into his own mouth, the vampire sucked seductively on the tempting muscle.

"Thought you didn't have time for a quickie, luv?" the blonde asked once he was able to break away from the demanding lips.

"Fine" Angel said as he pulled away from the blonde and reached for the shower gel hanging by the shower head.  Squirting a healthy amount onto his palm, Angel lathered up the soap and began to methodical wash and massage the lithe body before him, until he settled on the hard erection of his lover.  Slowly stroking the steely length, Angel bent down to reclaim the lips he loved so much.

Spike began to moan and writhe in the larger mans hands.  He tilted his head back to look into the eyes of his lover.  Angel smirked at the blonde with a mischievous glint in his eyes.  Spike answered with his own smirk before he reached over and filled his own hand with gel and reaching for the other man's erection.

Angel moaned at the slick warmth that surrounded him and increased his ministrations on his childe.  He leaned his head forward to rest on his Spike's shoulder as he began to pant.

Both men continued to stroke the other as the tension in them mounted beyond their sanity.  Angel pulled back as he quietly whispered, "Will."

Spike pulled his head back to gaze into the lust filled brown eyes.  Without a word being spoken, everything they wanted to say was expressed in that look and both men cried out, spilling out over clenching hands.

Slowly, they came back to themselves as the water began to run cold. "Better get out, luv" Spike whispered in a voice hoarse from crying out his release.

Angel simply nodded and turned off the water.   Handing a towel to the blonde and grabbing one for himself, the dark vampire began to dry off the smaller man and sighed as Spike reciprocated.  Once they were dry, they wandered back into the bedroom and began to reluctantly pull on clothing.

Once they were fully clothed, Angel turned to Spike and asked, "So when will I get to see you again?"

Spike chuckled at the insecurity in the vampire's voice.  "Tonight, if you want" he said with a smirk.

"I want" Angel answered as he pulled Spike into his arms and kissed him softly.  After a moment, they pulled away from each other and Spike pulled on his coat.  He looked at Angel and smiled before he teleported out of the room.  Angel laughed as he walked out of the room.  "That is so cool."

*************

Angel walked into the science department and was amazed at the sheer number of people crowded in the normally calm atmosphere.  <Where did all these people come from?> he wondered.  He looked around for a moment before he spotted the head of the department.

"Fred" he called as he made his way toward the petite brunette.

"Angel" the young Texan called excitedly as she saw her friend approaching.

"What's going on?" he asked, gesturing around at the excited masses surrounding them.

"Knox found some old files that had references to 'the souled vampire and the way to eliminate our problem'" she explained.  "Somehow, this machine has something to do with you."  She walked over and laid her hand down on an ominous looking machine.

To Angel, it looked like some crazy contraption someone from the nineteen hundreds would have imagined as a future weapon.  It was large and metal and had a multitude of buttons and lights.  At one end, it had a ring that looked like it was made of some ancient clay and had some strange etchings around the edges.  In the center of the ring was a small piece of wood that looked like some sort of wand.

Fred saw the vampire looking at the odd markings on the ring and said, "Wesley has already taken an etching of the marks and is trying to determine what language it is to see if he can translate it."

"Do you think it is some sort of weapon to try and kill me?" he asked, mesmerized by the instrument.

"That's the current theory we are working with" she answered, slowly roaming her hands over the cool metal.  "We won't know for sure until Wes comes back with a translation.  I have some people trying to break into some of the files about this.thing." She was gesturing wildly at the ominous looking machine.  "Maybe they will find out what this thing does."

"Ok, Fred" Angel said, smiling at the smartest person of his team.  "Keep me updated if you find out anything interesting."

"There is one thing" Fred said quietly.

The vampire turned to look at the young woman.  He knew this couldn't be good.  She had gained a lot of confidence over the last year working at Wolfram and Hart, so when she began acting shy and subdued; he knew it could only be bad news.  "What?" he asked curiously.

"I just thought you might want to know who was in charge of this project" she said with a slight tilt of her head.

"Let me guess" Angel said sarcastically.  "Lilah Morgan."

Fred nodded before adding, "And Lindsey McDonald."

"Shit!" Angel whispered as he walked away swiftly, heading to his office.

"That about sums it up" Fred whispered as she watched the vampire stalk away.  She had to find out what this thing did and soon.  She had noticed that as the vampire had moved closer to the machine, the faint glow on what she assumed was the control panel had gotten stronger.  This could be bad. Really, really bad.

~Part: 15~

Spike smiled as he approached Sam's office.  He liked the man well enough; it was just hard for him to follow what he was saying sometimes.  And in a job like this, communication meant a lot.  Slowly, he turned the knob and walked in.  As soon as he closed the door, he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"Will!  Dude! What's up?" the man embracing the blonde gushed.

"Sam" Spike said as he tried to extricate himself from the other man's grasp.  "I'm well."

"So how'd the bonding thing go, man?" the man said as he leaned casually against his desk.  "Took a look at the sire and he is totally a hottie. Major woodage goin' on."

Spike snickered at his bosses descriptions.  He never would have imagined the man in charge of a battalion of angels would look like a surfer movie throwback, overgrown sun bleached hair and all.  "Things are good" he started.  He took a deep breath before continuing.  "But I had a question."

"Dude, if it's about Angel being a vamp, fret not my friend" the man said with a smile.  "Things are kosher, so just chill, bro.  Other angels have had relationships and it's all of the good.  No one's ever done it with a vamp though.  Makes sense though.  Already dead, so there's no prob there."

Spike just stood and nodded as the surfer babbled.  He tried his best to follow the apparent foreign language his boss was speaking in.

"You remember meeting Chase, right?" Sam continued.  Once Spike nodded, he continued, "He was banging this immortal dud named Mentos or Meelos or something like that for a while, but they broke up after awhile.  Dude died every time they screwed.  How much would that suck?"

Spike thought he understood what the other man was saying.  He nodded with a smile.  He was just happy that he now had permission to continue his relationship with Angel.  All his thoughts turned to the dark vampire and the night ahead of him.

"Will, dude, don't get ahead of me" Sam said, snapping his fingers in front of the blonde's face.

"Sorry Sam" Spike apologized with a shy smile.  "So what's the word?  Any new assignments?"

"Nope" the man smiled heartily.  "You lucked out.  Check back tomorrow, right?"  Spike nodded before he was dismissed with Sam's usual, "Snooch to the nooch."

He quickly bounced out of the door, intent on getting some sleep before heading over to see Angel and tell him the good news.  If he had any say in the matter, neither one of them would be getting much sleep that night.

********

Angel sat behind his desk, exhausted.  He had caught up with the clients he had missed the day before and handled the issues that still needed attention today.  He sighed as he signed the last of the contracts Gunn had left for him when a familiar body materialized in front of his desk.

"Miss me, luv?" Spike whispered as he smirked at the dark vampire before him.

Angel smirked back at the vision before him.  His first instinct was to jump up and grab the blonde and ravage him, but he restrained himself for a moment.  "You want to see how much I missed you?" he asked as he leaned back in his large leather chair.

Spike paused for moment before rushing around the desk and straddling the dark vampire's strong thighs.  He pressed his erection down, grinding it against the matching hardness of his sire.  Both men moaned loudly.  Spike leaned forward to take the vampire's tempting lips in a bruising kiss when they were interrupted by the insistent sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway.

Angel sighed heavily as he slowly peeked around the blonde's shoulder to see who was watching them.  "Hey Gunn" he said, quietly greeting the young man watching them open mouthed.  "You looking for the contracts?"

The lawyer slowly nodded his head, silently staring at his friend and the blonde in his lap.  Angel nodded to the folders on the desk.  "Everything's signed.  If you need anything, you know where to find me.tomorrow."

Spike snickered as he watched the man reach forward tentatively to take the previously mentioned files and slowly make his way toward the door.  Before he could make it, Angel said, "By the way, Charles Gunn, this is my childe, Spike."

Gunn slowly made his way back toward the desk and offered his hand.  Spike backed away from the man but gave the man his most charming smile.  "Nice to meet you" the former demon hunter said, but it came out more like a question than a comment.

Spike chuckled lightly and said, "You too, mate."

"See you tomorrow, Gunn" Angel said dismissively as he turned all his attention back to the man in his lap.  After the young man left the room, Spike quietly asked, "So that's the one working as your lawyer?"

Angel nodded, smiling widely.  "Yeah.  He's normally more animated than that.  I think we may have shocked him a bit."

"What?" Spike said with a look of mock surprise.  "He wasn't expecting to see the boss grinding with another guy?"

Angel chuckled at the angel's crude remark.  "No, I don't expect he did."

Spike leaned forward and snaked his tongue out to lick the tempting bottom lip before him.  Angel moaned at the sensual feeling.  He inhaled deeply, soaking in Spike's unique scent.  As he opened his mouth to breathe, Spike took the advantage and thrust his tongue into the moist cavern.

At the first stroke of the velvety tongue against his sensitive palate, Angel thrust his hips up, demanding more friction from the tempting body above him.

"What the matter, luv?" Spike asked with a smile when a pulled away slightly.  "You seem a little impatient.  Been thinking about this, have you?"

"All day" Angel answered as he reached around to cup the firm buttocks resting on his knees.  He smiled at his childe and asked, "You seem in a good mood.  I take it your meeting with Sam went well."

Spike nodded as he leaned forward to capture the kiss swollen lips again. "Sam gave us the green light, mate" he whispered against the parted lips.

"So we're not going to cause some irreversible damage to the universe then?" Angel asked playfully.  Spike reached over and gently smacked the dark vampire in the back of the head.  Angel chuckled lightly and grabbed the blonde's face with both hands and pulled him back in for a breathtaking kiss.

Spike moaned when Angel gently began nibbling the luscious bottom lip and rubbing the firm globes in his hands.  Slowly, Spike pulled away and whispered, "Upstairs?"

Angel nodded and quickly stood, still holding the smaller man close to him. As he made his way toward his private elevator, Spike asked, "Are you going to put me down?"

"Nope" Angel said as the doors opened and he stumbled inside.  He quickly pushed the button for the penthouse and pushed the blonde against the wall, kissing him passionately.  As the vampire left the tempting mouth and began to kiss his way down the strong jaw line, Spike chuckled before saying, "You do realize that there are cameras in these things, right luv?"

"Yep" Angel said with a very un-Angel like smile.  Spike moaned at the unusual display of exhibitionism from his sire.

Angel chuckled at the look of shock on his childe's face and decided to press his advantage.  He quickly slipped his hands into the faded blue jeans Spike was wearing to grip the flesh of the blonde's firm ass.  "Mmmm" Angel hummed in Spike's ear, causing the smaller man to shudder slightly.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Angel tumbled out into his apartment still clutching the blonde to him.  Spike laughed heartily as they tumbled onto the bed and Angel landed fully on top of him forcing all the air out of lungs with a soft "oomph".

Angel looked down at the shining blue eyes.  "You ok?" he asked, concern sounding in his voice.

"Yeah" Spike answered once he got his breath back and reached up to twine his fingers in the sable locks and pull Angel's mouth back down to his own. They attacked each others mouths with a savage need, licking and biting, driving each other into a frenzy.

Angel quickly stripped them both and pinned the smaller man beneath him. Their eyes locked for a moment and Spike recognized the desperation in the chocolate depths.  "Sire?" he asked quietly.

"Need you" Angel gasped out, surprised by the amount of need he felt for the younger man.  He watched as Spike nodded slightly giving the vampire his consent.  Angel slowly made his way down the tight, toned body, licking and nipping at every piece of flesh exposed to him.  He made sure to hit every one of Spike's hot spots; his nipples, his navel, the hollow next to his hip bones.

Spike moaned at the slow torture Angel was inflicting on him.  From the look his sire had given him, Spike had expected a quick and brutal fucking, but Angel was making this as sensuous and slow as possible.

The brunette ran his tongue from the tip of his childe's hard cock all the way down to the root until he rubbed his nose in the course, curly hairs there.  Then he sucked the round globes hanging temptingly below the jutting cock into his mouth and hummed lightly, causing Spike to arch off the bed. The blonde pulled his legs back to allow the questing mouth better access to his body.  Angel smiled as he put his hands on the back of Spike thighs and pushed them further up until the angel's knees were brushing his ears.

Angel smiled as he looked at the wanton position his childe was in, just waiting for him to touch him.  He blew a light puff of air against the soft pucker before him.  Spike yelped and jerked at the delicious tickle.  He wanted to beg for more, but lost any ability to speak when Angel thrust his tongue deep into his tight hole.  The abrupt intrusion caused him to thrust his hips up, seeking some desperately needed friction.

Angel quickly had the blonde reduced to begging and desperate gasps and moans.  He continued to tongue the hole, fucking Spike with his mouth until the younger man cried out, "Sire, please!"

Keeping his grip on the strong thighs, Angel knelt up and quickly entered the saliva slicked hole.  Both men cried out at the sudden shot of sensation.  Angel tried to hold still to allow the smaller man to adjust to his abrupt penetration, but his passion was too great and he began to thrust in earnest.

Spike reached around his tense thighs to grasp the clenching buttocks of his sire.  He dug his fingernails deep into the tempting flesh, urging the vampire to move harder and faster.

The vampire looked down at the beautiful face of his childe below him.  He took in the wanton expression on the boy's face and whispered, "Will, look at me."

Spike opened his eyes without realizing he had ever closed them and stared at the gold rimmed depths that seemed to be boring into his soul.  He wanted to say something.  He wished he could express the depth of what he was feeling but there were no words for what he felt.  He only knew of one way for Angel to know what he truly felt.  "Please" he begged as he arched his neck, presenting the pale length to the vampire.

Angel moaned and shifted into game face without even realizing it.  He leaned down and began to lick the taut flesh before gently piercing it with fangs.  As he pulled the warm elixir into himself, he felt the depth of Spike's emotions flowing through him.  The combination was too much and Angel fell over the edge of his orgasm, his scream muffled by the flesh still in his mouth.

As soon as he felt his flesh part beneath his lover's mouth, Spike arched against the hard body above him.  He rubbed the oversensitive head of his hard cock against the tight abdominal muscles of his sire.  With the first pull of Angel's mouth on his neck, Spike suddenly cried out as he exploded in a flash of pure pleasure.

Panting harshly, Spike slowly opened his eyes to see the top of Angel's head resting just below his chin.  He tried to lower his legs, but they were pinned below the shoulders of the now apparently passed out vampire.  The blonde chuckled lightly and tapped the larger man on the back.

"Angel" he whispered.  There was no response.

"Angel" he tried again a little louder.

"Come on, ya' fat git" he said grumpily even though he still had a large smile on his face.  "I'm starting to get a cramp."  The vampire still refused to move.  "Just my luck" Spike grumbled.  "He passes out when I'm all done up like a pretzel."

The blonde tried to push the larger man off him, but without his vampire strength the feat is practically impossible.  He considered teleporting out from under him, but he really has no idea what that would do to either one of them with Angel still buried deep inside him and apparently still semi hard.  So the angel simply laid back and tried to fall asleep.  Angel would just have to make it up to him when he woke up.

~Part: 16~

Angel sighed as he slowly drifted back to consciousness.  He had never felt so safe and relaxed.  He breathed deeply again and was surprised to hear a strangled moan.  He opened his eyes to see the strained face of his childe below him.  "Spike?" he asked, suddenly very concerned.

"Move please" came the strangled moan from beneath him.

Angel quickly rolled off the crushed blonde and cradled him to his chest. "Gods, Spike" he whispered, peppering the top of the blonde head with kisses.  "Why didn't you say something?"

"Tried" Spike groaned out as he slowly lowered his cramping legs down to the bed.  "You wouldn't budge."  He turned his face up to look at the brunette. "What happened?  You've never done that before."

"Don't know" Angel shrugged.  "Must be that tasty angel's blood you've got now."

Spike was taken back by the leer on Angel's face.  That was a look he only associated with one person.Angelus.  "You alright, luv?" he asked quietly, unsure he really wanted to hear the answer.  But they should be ok.  Sam had given them the go ahead, hadn't he?

"Yeah Spikey" the dark vampire said with a smile.  "Never better.  In fact, I'm thinking a repeat performance might just be in order."

At the sound of the endearment, Spike shot up out of the bed and stared at the shocked vampire.  "Angel?" he asked before fear overtook him and he tried again.  "Angelus?"

Angel looked at the frightened man in shock.  <Why would he think I'm Angelus?> he wondered.  Then he realized what he'd called him.  The only time he'd ever called him Spikey was in Sunnydale after he lost his soul.

"I'm not Angelus" he responded quickly before thinking out loud.  "I'm not, am I?"  He started searching himself and, sure enough, there was his soul, in place and intact.  He looked into the azure eyes and did his best to project his soul through his own.  "I'm not Angelus, Spike.  I can still feel my soul."

At first, the angel was still a little wary, but then he saw the soul shining through the chocolate eyes he loved so much.  He slowly climbed back onto the bed.  "Then why'd you call me Spikey?" he asked quietly.

Angel shook his head.  "I don't really know.  Maybe it's because I drank your blood.  It's strange though, isn't it?"

Spike nodded as he went to settle down next to his sire, but Angel swept him up and placed him between his thighs with his back pressed up against Angel's chest.

"So" Angel said nonchalantly.  "What do you want to do today?"

Spike smiled as he wiggled enough to show Angel what he really wanted to do. When Angel moaned quietly, the blonde chuckled lightly.  "I thought we could talk" he said after a moment.  "I've been gone for a while.  Maybe you could catch me up with the goings on, yeah?"

Angel chuckled softly.  It had been a long time since they had just sat and talked.  Angelus and William used to sit and talk all the time.  They had heated debates about art, literature, philosophy, anything that took their fancy, until Angelus couldn't take it anymore and found something better to do with his boy's pretty mouth.  "What do you want to know, Will?" he asked, settling against the headboard and clutching his childe closer to him.

"Tell me about your crew" Spike suggested, reaching down to intertwine their fingers.

"Well, you've met Wesley" Angel started, thinking about what Spike might want to hear.

"Angel" Spike interrupted before he could get started.

"Yeah?" the vampire asked as he rubbed his cheek in the soft blonde hair.

"Would you mind using the accent?" the angel asked hesitantly.

Angel chuckled lightly.  He really did love this man.  "Is this what ye had in mind, me boy?" he whispered in the delicate ear, his voice thick with a long forgotten Irish brogue.

"Oh yeah" Spike moaned as he leaned back against the rumbling chest and listening to the voice he missed so much.

************

Several hours later, Spike stretched and turned in the strong arms that were encircling him in a warm embrace.  "What time is it, luv?" he asked after reaching up for a lingering kiss on the tender lips of his sire.

Once the kiss ended, Angel leaned over to look at the clock on his bedside table.  "Time to get up" he said with a sigh.  "Would you like to share a shower?" he asked quietly.

"Sounds good" Spike said as he stood up and reached out for the vampire's hand.  The two men walked into the bathroom.  Once the spray was the right temperature, they stepped in and gently began to wash each other.  It was gentle and languid, completely unlike anything they had ever done before. It was nice.

Once they were clean, Angel stepped out of the shower and grabbed two large fluffy towels.  He pulled Spike out of the shower and dried him off before pulling him back into the bedroom.  As they dressed without a word, they gently touched and caressed the rapidly disappearing exposed flesh.

"This was nice" Angel said as he pulled Spike in for a soft, probing kiss.

"Yeah" Spike agreed.  "It was.  Been a long time since I just spent time with someone without the expectation of something.else."

Angel smiled.  He knew exactly what Spike meant.  Most of his relationships and conversations were all about what he could do for someone.  Today had been about spending time with each other for no other reason than they liked each others presence.  It was comforting.

Angel leaned back in for another kiss when the room was suddenly filled with a large amount of mystical energy.  It froze both men for a moment until the wave of power suddenly reversed and seemed to implode on itself.

Once the tingling stopped, Spike looked up at the questioning brown eyes. "What the hell was that?" he asked, shuddering from the unexpected sensation.

"I have no idea, but I think we'd better figure out what is going on" Angel said as he led the way out of the bedroom.

Once they reached the lobby, they were surprised to see the staff in an unusual frenzy.  People were running around in confusion, trying to figure out what was happening.  Angel turned around to find Wesley hurrying out of his office.  "What's going on?" he shouted as the man reached them.

"I'm not sure" the former watcher said as he reached his friend.  "But the disturbance came from the science department."

"Fred" Angel groaned as they all quickly made their way upstairs.  Once they entered the expansive laboratory, Wesley began looking for the young Texan while Angel walked over to the weapon they had just recently discovered.  He was upset to discover that it was in pieces.  He hoped that didn't mean what he feared.

"Angel" Spike whispered before motioning toward the large crowd of people at the other end of the lab.  He rushed over and found Fred at the center of the group being fawned over by Wesley and Knox.

"What happened?" Angel asked as he pushed his way towards the young woman.

"Hi Angel" Fred said grumpily.  "This is so stupid.  I was working on the machine we found the other day and it just went off."

"Yeah, and threw her across the room" Knox added.

"But I'm fine" Fred added.  "I don't know what all the fuss is."

"What did you do to set it off?" Wesley asked, fully in watcher mode.

"Nothing" the scientist said more towards her feet than the man.  She looked extremely guilty.  After a moment, she finally confessed, "I may have read some of the inscriptions on the side."

"What?" Angel, Spike and Wesley all yelled in unison, although Fred only heard the exclamation from two of the men.

"Fred" Wesley began.  "I would think you, of all people, would know better than to read something off a mystical item out loud in front of it."  He knew he sounded like he was scolding a disobedient child, but he couldn't help it.  She could have killed herself.  Exasperated, he stood quickly and said, "I want you to go to the medical wing immediately and have them do a full check up on you.  I expect a full report as soon as possible."

Fred knew better than to argue with the former watcher when he was in one of his moods.  "Fine" she said, testily.  "I'm not a child."  She stormed out of the lab and made her way to the medical wing, upset that she was going to be losing valuable research time.

Once she had left, Angel pulled Wesley aside.  "What do you think happened?" he asked in a hushed voice, not wanting any of the Wolfram and Hart employees to overhear him.

"I'm not sure" the former watcher replied as he slowly pinched the bridge of his nose.

Spike smiled at the gesture that reminded him so much of Giles.  He lightly tugged on Angel's sleeve.  "I've got to go, luv" he said once he had the vampire's attention.

"Ok" he said quietly.  He turned to Wesley and said, "I'm going to go say goodbye to Spike and then we'll try to figure this thing out."

"Spike's here?" Wesley asked, looking around.

"Yeah" Angel said.  "I'll be right back."

The two men slipped out of the lab and into Angel's office in silence.  Once they were in private, Angel grasped the smaller man to his chest and purred lightly.

"You ok, pet?" Spike asked warily.

"I'm just worried" the vampire said softly.  "I'm going to try and sort all this out.  We've got to figure out what that machine was meant to do to me. I don't know what we would do if anything happened to Fred."

Spike smiled and pulled the taller man down into a soft, reassuring kiss. "I'm sure everything will be alright.  I've gotta check in, but I'll be back later, ok?"

Angel nodded before leaning in for one more kiss.  He smiled at the blonde before he disappeared from the room.

*****************

Spike stood outside Sam's office, bracing himself for another interesting conversation with his boss.  If he remembered, he was going to ask him about the whole 'channeling Angelus' thing that Angel did after drinking his blood.  The last thing the world needed was the unsouled version of his sire roaming around.  He took a deep breath and quietly entered the room.

"Hi Sam" he said when he saw the man sitting behind the desk with a somber look on his face.

"Hi Will" Sam said before he looked up at the blonde angel before him. "Sit."

Now Spike was really worried.  The only time Sam didn't greet him with a hug and smile was when he had a really bad assignment for him.  It had only happened a few times and this looked like it was going to top the list so far.  "That bad?"

Sam simply nodded and handed Spike the file.  "This is really going to suck, Will and I'm really sorry.  But you know how it is.  Some things just gotta be done."  That was probably the most Spike had ever heard the man speak without using the words 'dude' or 'totally'.

"How much time have I got?" the blonde asked, worried that he was going to be rushed for this one.  Those were always the worst.

"From now?" Sam asked.  Receiving a nod from Spike, he continued, "Seventy two hours."

"Shit" Spike whispered.  It was so hard to convince someone to let go that quickly.  He was really going to have to pull out all the stops on this one. He was just getting ready to get up out of the chair and get started on the case, when he looked down and happened to see the name and picture of his charge.  "No" he whispered, barely making a sound.

"Will" Sam said, coming around the desk to put his hand on the man's shoulder.  "I am so sorry."

<It can't be> Spike thought.  He just kept staring at the picture and name on the file.  It was just too surreal.  He just didn't want to believe that the next person he would take to the afterlife would be Winifred Burkle.

~Part: 17~

Fred clamped her hand firmly over her mouth, trying vainly to keep from laughing hysterically at the drama unfolding in the foyer of the hotel.  The two friends had been screaming at each other for nearly twenty minutes until finally they broke their standstill.  The brunette giggled out loud as she watched Mera storm out of the lobby and out into the courtyard as Farah ran upstairs to lose herself in the maze of floors above.

She couldn't believe it was that easy to cause the best of friends to end up at each other's throats.  And all over a single article of clothing.  The article of clothing that was currently hidden under Fred's bed.  It was just a simple pink hoodie with the word 'Angel' on the front, but it was treasured by the owner.  Just a few whispered words in the girl's ear about how her friend coveted her beloved shirt and how it had gone missing and then the fun began.

She walked out of her hiding place in the doorway of the library, laughing heartily at the stupidity of the two girls, but was stopped short when she saw the blonde angel sitting on top of the hideous circular couch that still graced the middle of the lobby.

"Spike" she said, eyeing the angel skeptically.

"Hello, luv" Spike said, unmoving from his spot on the couch.

"You here looking for Angel?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not."

The look in the angel's eyes made the girl freeze on the spot.  She wanted to turn and flee but she was stopped by the sound of her lover's voice.

"Hey baby" Xander said as he bound up through the door of the basement training room.  "Who you talking to?"

"Spike" she practically spat as she gestured to the blonde.

"Spike's here?" Xander asked, looking around frantically.

Fred looked from her boyfriend to the angel and sighed.  "He can't see you, can he?" she asked the blonde.  Spike simply shook his head.  Slowly, she turned to Xander and said, "Honey, I was just teasing.  Why don't you go and grab a shower and I'll be up in a little bit."

"Ok" Xander said after a moment's hesitation.  "Don't be long."

Once he was up the stairs and out of sight, Fred turned toward the kitchen and motioned for Spike to follow her.  She grabbed a large bottle of whiskey that Angel had stashed in the back to the cabinet and proceeded to pour herself a large glass.  She turned to the blonde and waited until he nodded to pour him some as well.

After a long moments pause, Fred finally asked, "So, how am I dying?"

Spike stared down into the amber liquid for several long moments before sighing heavily.  He looked the brunette in the eye and said, "The machine."

Fred nodded slightly before taking a long sip of the whiskey.  She knew she had been feeling different since the machine shot her.  She was just afraid to admit it to herself.

Seeing her acquiescence, Spike continued.  "It seems that machine was designed to remove Angel's soul.  One shot and the soul slowly begins to be eaten away instead of removing it immediately.  It seems the bastards that designed it wanted Angel to suffer knowing his soul was slowly disappearing."

"And since it hit me, my soul is slowly going bye bye" Fred finished.

Spike nodded before downing his glass and reaching for the bottle for a refill.  "There's no way to stop it" he whispered, refusing to meet the girl's brown eyes.  "I spent most of the day trying to find a way.  It's my job to bring you over before the soul is gone completely."

"How long do I have?" Fred asked emotionlessly.

"About sixty hours or so" the blonde answered.  "But the longer you wait, the harder it will be."

"And if I decide not to go?"

"Then you end up a soulless creature" Spike said, a little harsher than he intended as he stared the girl right in the eyes.  "You can never get it back.  Not by a spell or special circumstances.  Once it's gone, it's gone forever and you won't be our Fred anymore."

The girl's head shot up at that.  "Like I was ever your Fred anyway!" she shouted as she threw her glass across the room, smiling as it shattered as it hit the wall.  "None of you give a shit about me.  Now get out!  I'm going to go fuck my boyfriend and get a good nights sleep.  Maybe I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Spike sighed as he watched the small girl storm up the stairs.  This was not going to be easy.  He fucking hated this job.

*********

Angel sat in his office pouring over the information he got from Knox and some of the other people in the science department.  From what he and Wesley had translated, the machine was designed to destroy him slowly with his full knowledge of what was happening to him to increase the torture.  If only they knew exactly what it did they could help their friend.

He shuttered as he thought about what poor Fred must be going through.  He wished he hadn't put her in such a dangerous situation.  If only he hadn't made the deal with Wolfram and Hart, then she never would have had anything to do with that damned machine and they wouldn't be in this situation now.

He put his head down on the desk with a thump as he took in a shuttering breath.

"Hello luv" Angel heard the soft baritone say from in front of him.

He slowly lifted his head to look at the blonde standing in front of his desk.  He wanted to smile at the beautiful sight before him, but the look on Spike's face stopped him cold.

"What is it?" he asked fearfully.

"I got a new assignment today" Spike whispered as tears pricked his eyes.

"Is it bad?"

"The worst."  Without waiting for Angel to ask another question, Spike pushed on.  "It's Fred."

For a moment, he thought he broke Angel.  The vampire didn't say anything or even move for several long moments.  He didn't even blink and Spike was sure that Angel was lost in some strange souled vampire grief thing until finally he heard one whispered word.

"How?"

"It was meant for you" Spike started quietly, unable to meet the vampire's eyes.  "It attacks the soul and slowly eats it away.  She's got about sixty hours or so before it's gone completely.  If she doesn't cross over before then, she'll live on this plane as a soulless human.  Not very fun, those, you know."

Angel nodded as though he understood everything Spike had said, but he knew that he hadn't.  It had taken Spike the better part of the day to understand it himself and he had an entire file of information at his disposal.

"I spent most of the day trying to figure out a way to stop it" he continued, slowly rubbing his now sweaty palms on his jeans.  "Nothing's going to help her.  I thought about the curse, but these bastards really knew what they were doing.  Once her soul is gone, it can't be replaced by returning her soul or giving her a new one.  She has to go."

Angel stared at his hands that were now gently clawing at the smooth wood of the desktop.  While Spike waited for him to say something, Angel simply stood and walked out of the office without a word.

The blonde was worried.  He hadn't seen that look in the vampire's eyes in a long time.  He followed quickly the moving brunette through the building until they came to the science wing.  Spike watched as Angel calmly walked through the department, grabbed a large metal pole and with a gut wrenching howl began to pound ruthlessly on the machine that had claimed his friend's soul.

Spike watched as the dark vampire poured out his rage and grief on the mass of metal, wire and clay, quickly reducing it to a pile of rubble.  Even after it was an unrecognizable pile, Angel continued to pulverize the offensive machine.  Realizing that he was not slowing down any time soon, Spike slowly walked forward and grabbed the vampire tightly around the waist, trying to calm his anger.

Feeling the warm arms encircling his waist, Angel felt the anger drain from his body, leaving behind only pain and sorrow.

When the larger body slumped in his arms, Spike directed the man into the elevator.  Once they had reached the apartment, the blonde led Angel into the bedroom and quickly undressed them both before settling them into the bed and clutching the pliant man to his chest.

After several long moments, Angel finally spoke.  "She saved my life, you know?"

This was quite a revelation for the blonde.  He knew that Angel cared for the girl but he never expected anything like this.  "Tell me, luv" Spike prompted and settled down for a good story.

Angel proceeded to tell the tale of his trip to an alternate dimension where he could stand in the sun and see himself in a mirror.  Spike was awed by this place where music didn't exist and humans were treated as cattle.  The vampire explained his duality in this place and how his demon almost took him over completely if it hadn't been for one small, brilliant, crazy girl. She had saved him and now he had killed her.

Spike simply held the weeping man in his arms until the crying stopped and Angel seemed to fall asleep.  Tomorrow they would face the inevitable but for now Spike would hold his sire in his arms and comfort him with his presence.  All the soft words and caresses would not take this pain away, but Spike knew that was all he had to give.

~Part: 18~

Xander winced as he slowly made his way to Angel's office.  He hadn't been that sore in a long time, he felt like he had gone ten rounds with a Mora demon and that was definitely not of the fun.  Smiling at Harmony as he passed her desk, he made his way into the vampire's office.

He opened the doors and was surprised to notice that Angel wasn't there. Gunn nodded at the young man as he passed, Lorne smiled as when the young boy limped by and Wesley simply held out his hand, indicating which chair Xander should sit in.

Xander considered simply standing for a few moments, but he was still tired from his activities the night before.  He bit back a groan as he settled down into the large chair, stretching the worn and abused muscles in his arms and back.  He thought about his lover as he stroked the purpling bruises on his neck before turning his head to take a good look at Angel's office.

It struck Xander suddenly that he had never been in Angel's office before. Sure, he had come to Wolfram and Hart on any number of occasions; bringing Fred her lunch, stopping by to talk to Lorne about one of the kids at the hotel or checking with Angel about funding, but he had never even been interested to see where his benefactor worked.  He smiled lightly when he realized that Angel's office appeared exactly like he expected it to.  It was dark and broody with a masculine sense of beauty permeating every detail.  Even the deadly looking weapons hanging on the wall behind the desk were set to compliment each other and their owner.

Angel's entrance pulled the young man from his introspection.  He turned to look at the worn and drawn face of the normally immaculate vampire and wondered what was so wrong that Angel looked like the walking dead that he really was but never showed.  This was defiantly something bad.

Angel paused when he saw Xander.  The boy looked like he had been held down and beaten within an inch of his life.  He had seen Xander bruised and bloodied before, but this time, the boy looked defeated.  The dark vampire practically jumped when he heard Spike whisper, "Bloody hell, what happened to the whelp?"

Angel shook his head, silently trying to tell the angel that he didn't know. But he was going to find out.

"Xander," the vampire whispered as he closed in on the young man.  "What happened to you?"

The brunette reached up and tried to pull his collar up to hide the bruises on his neck, only managing to expose the ones on his wrists.  Angel reached out and grabbed both of the boy's muscular forearms and pulled them out, keeping him from hiding his injuries.  He reached over to push one of the sleeves up, surprised by the smell of blood still clinging to the scratches on the flesh underneath.

Angel felt a wave of rage rush over him that someone would hurt a charge under his protection.  As much as he and Harris had hated each other over the years, since Xander had moved to LA, they had come to understand one another better and had formed what could almost be called a friendship.

"Who did this?" he growled, eyes flashing gold briefly before forcing it away.

Xander refused to meet any other pair of eyes in the room and continued to stare at the pale hand gripping his arm tightly.

"His girl," Spike whispered in Angel's ear.

"Fred?" Angel asked, incredulously.  "Fred did this?"

Spike's suspicions were confirmed when Xander's eye shot up from where it was on Angel's hand to stare at the dark vampire's face.

"How." the shocked brunette stuttered.  "How did you know?"

"Spike," Angel said quietly, trying to convey his compassion for the hurt young man through his eyes.

Xander dropped his head and nodded.  He should have known that the blonde angel would be there.  Somehow, Spike was a part of this and that thought scared Xander more than he cared to admit.

"Is this what it was like for you?" he asked the invisible angel.  "Is this how Buffy treated you?"

Everyone looked at the young man who appeared to be talking out loud to himself with concern and confusion.

Angel wasn't entirely sure what Xander was saying, but he knew that he needed to have a talk with Spike later.

"Just tell him I understand," Spike whispered into Angel's ear.  The dark vampire relayed the message before stepping back to lean against his desk.

"Ok, we all have an issue to discuss," the dark vampire started quietly.

Xander looked up into the sad eyes and shrugged.  He knew something was up with Fred, he just didn't know what.  She was so different since she came home from Wolfram and Hart the night before.  The mood swings had scared him and the violent outbursts were something he never expected from his sweet Fred.  He figured maybe she had a really bad day at work, or maybe it was PMS.  He remembered how bad it was living in the house of slayers when everyone was cycling.  Now that was truly frightening. Yet somehow, his sweet, young lover had scared him even more.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked quietly, staring the dark vampire down.

"She's losing her soul," Angel replied simply.  He expected some sort of outburst from the four other men in the office, but none came.  They sat silently, waiting for further explanation.

"Spike came to me last night," the vampire continued.  "She's his next assignment.  The machine that shocked her was designed for me.  It was developed to slowly eat my soul away so that I would know what was happening and suffer.  He's researched this completely and there is nothing we can do. Once her soul is gone, nothing can return it to her.  Not a spell, not a curse.nothing." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in.  He ran his hands through his hair, trying to come up with the courage to continue. "She has to cross over with Spike before it is gone completely.  If she doesn't, she'll be a soulless human until she dies."

"She said Spike came to see her last night, before." Xander trailed off, lightly fingering the bruises on his wrists. He knew something was up last night, but Fred had distracted him and he never asked why Spike was there. If he was honest with himself, he really didn't want to know.  At the time it seemed better to remain in the dark than to know this truth.

"So she knows what is happening to her," Wesley said, making it more of a statement than a question.

Angel simply nodded sadly.

"She didn't even say anything," Xander whispered, seeming to talk to his hands more than anyone in the room.

"She didn't want anyone to know," the vampire said.

"How long does she have?" the brunette asked, daring to look up at Angel.

"Not long enough," the small accent heavy with a southern drawl came from the doorway.

All the heads in the room whipped around to stare at the slight girl leaning against the door jam, arms crossed over his chest and scowl firmly in place over her delicate features.

"I see y'all decided to have a little discussion about me without me," she said menacingly as she stalked into the room.  "How nice.  Deciding what to do with my life, or the lack there of.  Assholes."

"Fred," Angel started softly.  "We were just getting everyone up to speed on what was happening."

"Was it Spike's idea?" she asked, snarling at the blonde angel.  "Tell all her friends and help make your job easier, is that how it works?"

"Spike's here?" Xander asked, looking around frantically.  Not seeing anything, but knowing that Angel, and now Fred could, he waited expectantly for an answer.

Reluctantly, Angel nodded.

"Everybody out!" he shouted to the room in general.  Wesley, Lorne and Gunn made their way to the door.  As they left, Xander indicated Fred and said, "You too."

"Not going to happen, Xander," she snarled.

"Fine, stay." He turned toward the vampire and said, "Ok, Spike. Show yourself."

"No, I can't," the blonde said, stepping behind the dark vampire subconsciously.

"Probably a good idea," Fred said as she glanced to where the angel stood. "He's really got an over inflated sense of duty.  He'll want to try and do something noble and stupid, no doubt."

Xander sighed and rested his head in his hands.  "I won't touch him and Angel can stand between us just to be sure, ok?" he pleaded.  "I need to talk to him, please."

Spike couldn't take the young man's pain, so he moved so that he was not only behind Angel, but his desk as well before he made himself manifest so the boy could see him. "Spike," Xander whispered when he saw the blonde angel materialize in front of him.  "Take me."

The men were shocked by the harsh laughter that erupted from the young Texan.  "I told you he would do something stupid."

Spike decided to ignore the girl's scathing comment and turned sad eyes to the young man.  "I'm sorry Xander, but it doesn't work that way."

"It's gonna work that way, Spike," he practically growled.  "You can't take her.  She doesn't deserve it."

"What?" Angel growled.  "And you do?  This isn't about a life for a life, Xander.  This is about Fred's soul.  Nothing we do will bring it back."

"You can't take her," Xander replied weakly as he folding in on himself in the large chair.

"I won't," Spike whispered. "She'll come willingly, won't you pet?"

Fred turned suddenly tear filled eyes on the blonde.  "Yeah, Spike.  I'll go with you, but later, ok?  Xander and I need some time."  Stubbornly, she held on to the last pieces of her soul and felt the love for her friends flow through her.  She turned and smiled a real Fred smile on Angel and asked, "Can you bring the guys back in, please?"

Angel fetched the three other men of the Angel Investigations team and they spent time talking and hugging like old times until the young Texan announcing that it was time for her to take her boyfriend home.  Before she walked out the door, she locked eyes with the angel and nodded, knowing that she would be seeing him again very soon.

************

Fred lay her head down on her boyfriend's sweaty, heaving chest.  When she caught her breath, she whispered, "I'm real sorry about last night.  I didn't mean to hurt you, but I just wasn't myself."

"I know," Xander replied, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the top of the brunette head resting under his chin.  "It's ok.  Just something more to remember you by."

"Don't talk like that, Xan," she said softly, trying to keep the tears from her voice.  "Shit happens, but we have a chance to cherish our time together before I have to go.  Don't be sad, ok?"

Xander sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to hold off the sleep he felt trying to pull him under its drowsy weight.  Fred noticed the lethargy in her boyfriend and sighed before levering herself up to look down at his post-coital relaxed face.

"Why don't you get some rest, Xander?" she asked as she reached over to trail her fingertips over the scruffy, scarred face she had come to love over the last year.  She circled the empty eye socket softly, pressing lightly against the rough skin there.  "We can talk more later, ok?"

"You'll be here when I wake up, right?" the scared man said, staring into the soft brown eyes staring back at him.

"Of course," Fred whispered, leaning up to kiss the man's soft lips before resting her head back down on the muscular chest.

"I love you," Xander whispered as he drifted off to sleep.

"I know," was the reply too quiet for him to hear.

Fred waited until she was sure that the man beneath her was asleep before she stood quietly and dressed in a simple pair of drawstring pants and tank top.  Looking back at the bed one last time, she silently walked out of the room.

Making her way downstairs, Fred slipped silently into Angel's old office and picked up the phone.  She dialed the number she knew so well and waited for an answer.

"Charles," she said once the other party answered.  "It's Fred.  Get Wesley and come and get me.  My body will be in the basement.  I don't want Xander or any of the kids to find me."  She waited for the man to finish shouting before she whispered, "Please Charles.  I have to do this.  Thanks.  I love you too."

As she hung up, she called out quietly, "Spike, I'm ready,"

Instantly, the blonde angel materialized in front of the young girl. "You're sure, luv?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said defeated. "If we don't do it now, I'll never go."  She quietly led him out of the small office and down into the basement they had set up as a training room so long ago.

"Ok.  Let's go."  The blonde reached over and took the girl's small hand in his own.  As they walked toward the basement wall, a swirling portal opened, light shining into the small room.  The angel was surprised when the girl stepped through without any hesitation, not even to give a thought about the man still sleeping upstairs, completely unaware that his girlfriend was dead.  Spike hoped the young man would make it through yet another tragic loss in his short life.

**********

Angel sat on the bed in his apartment waiting for his lover to return.  He wanted to smile when he saw the blonde appear at the end of the bed until he saw the look of utter despair on his childe's face.  Silently, he opened his arms and accepted the shaking body with a sigh.  They held each other late into the night and slept soundly, knowing that when they woke, they would have to face a world with one less chirpy, happy Texan girl.  And they hoped they would survive.

~Part: 19~

It had been three days since Fred's service.  Everyone was a little upset that they couldn't have a proper funeral, but the girl's parents had been notified of her passing since they were the next of kin, they came to collect the body straight away.  Her friends decided they needed to do something to celebrate her life so Angel had decided to throw a traditional Irish wake, LA style.

Once the party wound down and Xander went upstairs to his room, he barricaded the door and refused to come out.  Wesley, Gunn, even Angel had tried to make Xander open the door, but he refused even when they tempted him with chocolate and Twinkies.

The boy sat in his room and talked out loud to Spike.  He didn't know for sure whether or not the former vampire was there but he continued to talk. He talked about how he and Fred met, when they fell in love, everything. Almost more than Spike wanted to hear.

The angel sat on top of the boy's tall dresser and watched him, afraid to leave in case he did something rash.  Occasionally he would teleport out to talk to Angel, but other than that, he kept watch over the grieving man.

Spike was growing concerned.  Xander was acting strangely, even by Xander's standards.  The boy was surviving on the barest amount of sleep possible and he hadn't eaten.  Spike knew what he needed, but he couldn't give it to him. But he knew someone who could.

***********

"No." Angel said as he paced around his suite.  He hated staying in the hotel when he had his own apartment, but he wanted to stay close to Xander since Fred's passing.  The boy had been acting strange and Spike was concerned about him.  But Spike wanted him to do the unthinkable.

"I'm telling you, it'll work," Spike said from his spot on the bed.

"I don't care if you think it'll work or not, I'm not fucking Harris."

"Such language.  When you were Angelus, you were itching to take the boy."

"Exactly," Angel said as he flung himself down on the bed next to his lover. "When I was Angelus, Spike.  I can't just do this, not now."

"But it's what he needs," Spike whined, throwing himself on top of the brooding dark vampire.  He pulled himself up so he was flush with his sire and looked him in the eye.  Very seriously, he asked, "You want to help him, don't you?"

"Of course I want to help him, Spike," Angel said with a heavy sigh.  "I wouldn't want anyone to suffer the way Xander has had to suffer, but I really don't think this is the solution."

"Trust me, luv.  I know what I'm talking about."

Angel felt a wave of possessiveness and jealousy rise up in him.  He knew about the incident in the cemetery between Spike and Xander after Joyce's funeral, but he thought that was all that was between them.  Apparently he was wrong.

As the emotions flicked over Angel's face, Spike watched hesitantly.  His newly restored relationship with the vampire was still shaky and he was afraid that reveling too much might drive a wedge between them.  But he knew he couldn't lie to Angel.  His sire deserved to know the truth.

"You know about me and the whelp after Joyce's death, right?" the blonde asked even though he already knew the answer.  Once Angel nodded, Spike continued.  "Well, that wasn't the only time the boy came to me."

He looked up to see what the dark man thought.  Angel's face held no clue as to what he might be feeling so the blonde whispered, "It wasn't like we had some illicit affair or anything, but the boy needed something.something that I could apparently give him.  It was just a bit of cold comfort, but it helped him heal.  Helped us both really, if you want to know the truth."

"When?" Angel asked.

Spike couldn't tell if his lover's voice was strained from jealousy or confusion.  Either way, he sighed softly. "First, after Buffy died."  He looked into the soft brown eyes before continuing.  "We were both so lost. He found me, sitting on her grave, pissed out of my mind and talking to her like she was sitting next to me.  I would have stayed there all night and met the dawn if it hadn't been for the stubborn bastard.  He picked me up and dragged me back to my crypt."

Shaking his head at the memories, the blonde raked his fingers though his hair.  The last few days had brought back certain thoughts that although not entirely unpleasant, were unwanted.  He wanted to help Xander, but without his ability to touch him, he couldn't help him like he had in the past. Hopefully, he could convince his sire to take his place.

"Did you fuck him?" Angel asked suddenly.

Spike's head shot up at the question.  The tone of voice scared him more than he cared to admit.  "No," he confessed.  "The boy stayed all day, but we didn't." He made a vague gesture with his hands, hoping Angel would understand.  When the brunette didn't question him, he went on.  "Just a bit of a snog, mutual blowjobs, nothing major."

Standing and pacing, the angel avoided his lover's eyes. "I went to sleep and when I woke, he was gone.  He never talked about it, so I didn't either. Nothing happened again until after the wedding that wasn't."

He looked at Angel to assure himself that the vampire knew what he was talking about.  Satisfied that the brunette knew what he was talking about, Spike said, "He showed up at the crypt, soaking wet and shivering like one of those damn rat dogs everyone has anymore.  Still dressed in that tux and looking downright miserable.  He stayed for a full week, trying to get over what ever demons he was running from."  Spike took a deep breath before continuing.  "And before you ask, yes I did fuck him that time.  Quite a lot, actually.  It's funny.  The demon bint always said he was a Viking in the sack.  She wasn't lying."

The blonde had made his way over to the window and was staring out at the LA skyline, waiting for the rejection he was sure would come.  Suddenly, he felt a pair of strong arms circle his waist and pull him tight against a strong, muscular chest.  Lips were pressed into his hair and Spike sighed softly.

"Thank you for telling me, Will," Angel whispered into the soft blonde locks.  "It's odd, but I really think you helped Xander when he needed it. Do you really think this is what he needs?  I don't want to do more damage."

The blonde turned around in the band of muscles around him and looked up into the concerned brown eyes.  "I think the boy just needs a bit of comfort.  That's all it really was.  He needs to know that he is alive and he needs someone who's dead to show it to him."  He reached up to stroke a tender fingertip over his sire's strong jaw line.  "I'll be right there with you, luv.  Tell you all the right buttons to push.  I'll push your buttons as well.  Could be interesting, a little threesome as it were."

Angel thought it over for a few moments.  He knew something needed to be done to help Xander.  The boy was showing no signs of leaving his room and Spike was sure this was going to work.  And if his lover was there with him, it wouldn't really be cheating would it?  He turned questioning eyes to the blonde.  "What about my soul?"

"Do you really think it will be pure happiness, luv?" the angel asked. "It'll be like a way for the both of you to say goodbye to Fred.  A moment of perfect misery."

Angel nodded his head.  He couldn't believe he was going to agree to this and that Xander wouldn't threaten to stake him as soon as the words came out of Spike's mouth.

"I'll go get him," Spike whispered before leaning up to kiss the taller man quickly before teleporting out of the room.

***********

Xander sat in his room, still chatting to the angel who had just returned to his room.  Spike sat on top of the tall dresser and smiled down at the weary brunette.  "Hi Xander," he said quietly, trying not to startle the boy.

"Hi Spike," Xander replied quietly.  "What do you want?"

"Angel wants you. I can't be there for you, not like you need, but he's waiting for you," the blonde said quickly before disappearing once again.

Xander puzzled over the cryptic answer for a moment before standing and removing the items he had used to barricade himself in his room.  He opened the door and left the room he had been hold up in for several days.  Once he reached the vampire's suite, he quietly knocked on the door.  His heart was hammering in his chest so hard he thought it might break out any minute.  He wiped his sweaty palms on his pant legs and waited.

The boy practically jumped out of his skin when he heard the quiet voice just on the other side of the door say, "Come in Xander."

Opening the door and stepping through, Xander was surprised to see the front room almost completely shrouded in darkness and a soft glow coming from the sleeping area.  "Angel," he called out when he didn't see the vampire right away.

"In here," Angel called.

Slowly, the brunette made his way into the bedroom and gasped when he saw the multiple candles lighting the intimate space.  "Angel?" he asked, looking around the room in confusion.  "What is this?"

Angel looked over the boy's shoulder and smiled at his blonde lover as he closed the distance between them.  He took the human boy's face in his hands and before placing a gentle kiss on his soft lips, whispered, "Just a bit of cold comfort."

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